,,iii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #feh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #bg1 #bjbj,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,cardin1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 and ,mrs4 ,shaheen7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,calling for a free1 fair1 and transparent presidential election in ,belarus taking place on ,august #i1 #bjbj1 including the unimpeded participation of all presidential candidates4 ,whereas long-term president ,alyaksandr ,lukashenko has ruled ,belarus as an undemocratic dictatorship since the first presidential election in ,belarus in #aiid and is running for a sixth term in office2 ,whereas the presidential elections in ,belarus have been neither free nor fair and have been rejected by the international community as not meeting minimal electoral standards2 ,whereas ,belarus abolished presidential term limits in a referendum in #bjjd1 and ,lukashenko affirmed in ,november #bjai that he plans to run again in #bjbe2 ,whereas1 in the most recent #bjaj and #bjae presidential elections1 ,lukashenko arbitrarily disqualified or jailed key opponents ahead of and after the elections2 ,whereas1 in ,march #bjaa1 the ,united ,states ,senate unanimously passed a resolution condemning the ,belarusian elections as illegitimate and calling on the ,belarusian regime to immediately release all political prisoners2 ,whereas1 according to the ,department of ,state #bjai ,country ,report on ,human ,rights ,practices for ,belarus1 ,lukashenko has consolidated his rule over all institutions since his first term as president and undermined the rule of law through authoritarian means1 including manipulated elections and arbitrary decrees1 such that all subsequent presidential elections fell well short of international standards2 ,whereas the law of ,belarus provides citizens the ability to choose their government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and based on universal and equal suffrage1 but the ,government of ,belarus has consistently denied citizens that ability2 ,whereas flawed referendums in #aiif and #bjjd amended the ,constitution of ,belarus to broaden the powers of ,lukashenko1 extend his term in office1 and remove presidential term limits2 ,whereas appearances by opposition politicians on state media have historically been limited and such restrictions have been strongly criticized by the ,office for ,democratic ,institutions and ,human ,rights of the ,organization for ,security and ,co-operation in ,europe 7,,osce_/,,odihr71 which has not recognized any elections in ,belarus as free and fair since #aiie2 ,whereas authorities in ,belarus routinely impede the activities and legal status of opposition political parties by refusing to register them1 while allowing approximately #f largely inactive but officially registered pro-,lukashenko political parties to operate freely2 ,whereas the ,central ,election ,commission of ,belarus 7,,cvk7 disqualified the majority of potential candidates from the upcoming ,august #i1 #bjbj1 presidential election for politically motivated purposes2 ,whereas1 on ,june #cj1 #bjbj1 the ,central ,election ,commission barred ,valery ,tsepkalo1 a former ,ambassador to the ,united ,states and ,first ,deputy ,minister of ,foreign ,affairs and one of the major challengers to ,lukashenko1 from running in the presidential election2 ,whereas1 on ,may #f1 #bjbj1 popular blogger ,syarhey ,tsikhanouski was arrested and jailed for #ae days prior to a rally he had planned for ,may #i1 #bjbj1 to challenge the decision by ,lukashenko to hold a ,victory ,day military parade despite the coronavirus pandemic2 ,whereas1 between ,may #f and ,june #af1 #bjbj1 courts in ,belarus convicted #ig individuals as part of a new wave of political persecution for illegal protesting and sentenced those individuals to various terms of detention for a total of #a1bdf days1 while #aje individuals were fined a total of #ij1jjj rubles1 approximately #dj1jjj ,united ,states dollars2 ,whereas1 on ,may #ae1 #bjbj1 the ,central ,election ,commission rejected the registration documents submitted by ,tsikhanouski for his candidacy for the presidential election2 ,whereas1 on ,may #ai1 #bjbj1 the ,central ,election ,commission rejected the candidacy of opposition politician ,mikalay ,statkevich1 who previously challenged ,lukashenko in #bjaj and was incarcerated for #d years and #h months for protesting the disputed election1 allegedly on the basis of his criminal record2 ,whereas ,statkevich was subsequently sentenced on ,june #a1 #bjbj1 to #ae days in jail for taking part in an unauthorized opposition event in ,minsk to collect signatures for his candidacy1 was sentenced to another #ae days on ,june #ae1 #bjbj1 and still remains incarcerated as of ,july #bg1 #bjbj2 ,whereas1 on ,may #bb1 #bjbj1 ,human ,rights ,watch reported that between ,may #f and #ac1 #bjbj1 authorities in ,belarus arbitrarily arrested over #abj peaceful protesters1 opposition bloggers1 journalists1 and other critics of the government in #ag cities1 including ,youth ,block movement activists concerned about human rights and rule of law in ,belarus1 which is particularly disturbing in light of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic2 ,whereas1 on ,may #bi1 #bjbj1 ,tsikhanouski was arrested again in ,hrodna while collecting signatures for the presidential candidacy of his spouse1 ,svyatlana ,tsikhanouskaya1 who is running in his stead1 and ,tsikhanouski was subsequently charged with the organization and preparation of actions that severely violated public order2 ,whereas1 on ,may #ca1 #bjbj1 ,belarusian human rights group ,viasna 7,spring7 reported that #ej opposition activists were arrested by police while they were gathering signatures to allow opponents to participate in the presidential election2 ,whereas1 on ,june #h1 #bjbj1 ,paval ,sevyarynets1 co-chairman of the opposition ,belarusian ,christian ,democratic ,party1 was sentenced to #ae days in jail for supporting independent presidential candidates in rallies in ,minsk on ,june #g1 #bjbj1 and subsequently1 on ,july #h1 #bjbj1 was sentenced to a fifth consecutive #ae-;day jail term2 ,whereas1 on ,june #ah1 #bjbj1 authorities arrested potential presidential challenger ,viktar ,babaryka and his son1 ,eduard1 who heads his presidential campaign2 ,whereas1 on ,june #ai1 #bjbj1 the ,european ,union issued a statement calling on the ,government of ,belarus to immediately release ,babaryka and his son and called for an impartial investigation into the arrests2 ,whereas1 according to the ,belarusian ,association of ,journalists1 on ,june #ai1 #bjbj1 police officers detained at least #ad journalists1 including ,radio ,free ,europe_/,radio ,liberty 7,,rfe_/,,rl7 reporter ,alyaksandra ,dynko and cameraperson ,andrey ,rabchyk1 who were covering protests against the efforts of ,lukashenko to undermine the electoral process2 ,whereas1 on ,june #ai1 #bjbj1 the ,united ,states ,embassy in ,minsk urged the ,government of ,belarus to uphold its international commitments to respect fundamental freedoms2 ,whereas1 according to the ,committee to ,protect ,journalists1 over #c days starting on ,june #be1 #bjbj1 authorities arrested several bloggers1 including ,ihor ,losik1 ,serhei ,petrukhin1 ,aleksandr ,kabanau1 ,volodimir ,neronski1 ,aleksandr ,andreyev1 ,volodimir ,tsiganovich1 and ,serhei ,sparish1 a move ,amnesty ,international said represents a full-scale purge of dissenting voices2 ,whereas1 on ,june #bd1 #bjbj1 ,representative ,alcee ,l4 ,hastings1 ,chairman of the ,commission on ,security and ,cooperation in ,europe 7commonly known as the ,helsinki ,commission71 released a statement noting that ,belarusian authorities have made it impossible to hold free and fair elections by arresting and intimidating presidential candidates1 journalists1 and activists in the early stages of campaigning1 and moreover1 that there can be no free choice when the system is rigged in favor of the incumbent1 and called upon ,lukashenko to order the release of those who have been detained for political reasons and allow real political competition in ,belarus2 ,whereas1 on ,june #bi1 #bjbj1 ,amnesty ,international issued a statement condemning that there is no safe environment for political debate in ,belarus1 and there is a growing crackdown on human rights in the context of the forthcoming election1 and moreover1 opposition candidates along with their supporters are smeared1 targeted and incarcerated under trumped-up charges1 with women particularly targeted2 ,whereas1 on ,july #c1 #bjbj1 in a statement commemorating the ,independence ,day of ,belarus1 ,secretary of ,state ,mike ,pompeo urged the government of ,belarus to do everything in its power to ensure the upcoming elections are free and fair1 including the right of a diverse range of candidates to participate in the campaign1 the right of citizens to assemble peacefully and speak freely1 and open and fair ballot counting2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ad1 #bjbj1 the ,central ,election ,commission ultimately approved only #e candidates to run in the presidential election1 namely1 ,lukashenko1 ,andrey ,dzmitryyeu1 ,hanna ,kanapatskaya1 ,syarhey ,cherachan1 and ,tsikhanouskaya2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ad1 #bjbj1 during protests over the unjustified disqualification of several presidential candidates1 authorities used unnecessary and excessive force to detain at least #bbj individuals across the country2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ad1 #bjbj1 authorities detained at least #ag journalists covering protests in ,minsk1 ,brest1 and ,homel1 including ,katsiaryna ,andreeva 7and ,ihar ,ilyash when he sought her release7 with ,poland-registered broadcaster ,belsat ,,tv1 ,danil ,palyanski with independent news website ,pershiy ,region1 ,artsiom ,liava with independent news website ,novy ,chas1 ,aliaksei ,sudnikau and ,usevalad ,zarubin with independent news website ,tut4by1 blogger ,anatoly ,chilik1 ,andy ,smythe with ,,bbc1 ,mikhail ,ilyin and ,artsiom ,mayorau with ,polish broadcaster ,euroradio1 and ,ales ,piletski and ,andrey ,rabchyk with ,,rfe_/,,rl2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ae1 #bjbj1 at least #b1jjj people lined up to file complaints with the ,central ,election ,commission for denying the candidacy registrations of ,babaryka and ,tsapkalo1 and authorities detained another #af people1 including ,,rfe_/,,rl correspondent ,anton ,trofimovich and ,bela,p,a,n correspondent ,violeta ,savchyts2 ,whereas1 on ,july #ae1 #bjbj1 ,amnesty ,international issued a statement in response to the arrest of protesters in ,minsk on ,july #ad1 #bjbj1 stating that anyone detained simply for peacefully protesting in ,minsk1 or other cities1 is a prisoner of conscience1 and must be immediately and unconditionally released2 and ,whereas1 on ,july #bb1 #bjbj1 the ,central ,election ,commission announced it will severely limit the number of observers during early voting and on election day3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 condemns the politically motived arrest and imprisonment of opposition candidates in ,belarus1 including ,syarhey ,tsikhanouski1 ,viktar ,babaryka1 and ,mikalay ,statkevich1 and calls for their immediate release and ability to compete in the ,august #i1 #bjbj1 presidential election in ,belarus2 7#b7 condemns the arbitrary disqualification by the ,central ,election ,commission of ,belarus of the majority of the potential candidates for the ,august #i1 #bjbj1 presidential election2 7#c7 condemns the crackdown on and arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters1 opposition party members1 human rights activists1 and independent media by authorities in ,belarus2 7#d7 stands in solidarity with the people of ,belarus1 including human rights defenders1 bloggers1 and journalists1 who are exercising their right to freedom of assembly1 freedom of expression1 and rule of law2 and 7#e7 calls on ,belarus to hold free1 fair1 and inclusive presidential elections on ,august #i1 #bjbj1 that meet international standards and include credible international election monitoring4